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Shall We dance? Ramon Tikaram as the King of Siam and Josefina Gabrielle as Anna The King and I Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton **** IT IS 61 years
since the relatively unknown Yul Brynner stepped on to the Broadway
stage as King Mongkut
of Siam in Rodgers and Hammerstein's new musical
The King and I. A new century and a new production and Singapore
born Ramon Tikaram takes over the palace in this lavish, big cast
version by Leicester's Curve theatre and he makes a more than decent
fist of a role Brynner had all but made his own to the extent that it
was a little disconcerting to see Mongkut with hair. Tikaram might have been king but he, like
everyone else, fell under the spell of Josefina Gabrielle as Mrs Anna
Leonowens. Gabrelle, incidentally, was a soloist with
the National Ballet of Portugal before turning to acting. She is the perfect, independently minded English,
colonial school ma'am. She glides, rather than flounces, in her splendid
hooped dresses – no doubt helped by all that ballet training - and
has a beautiful voice for those Rodgers and Hammerstein big numbers such
as Hello, Young Lovers, Shall We Dance and the song, or at least
the tune, rescued from the recycling bin on South Pacific, Getting to
Know You.
There are some clever touches in the direction by
Paul Kerryson and designs by Sara Perks using six giant panels, like the
moveable screen walls of oriental houses, which slide across the
front of the stage to create different views and patterns as well
a frame for a very clever shadow show used at the start and end to some
considerable effect. The stage also has a highly glossed floor which
not only provides a reflection of the back wall and statues but gives an
interesting reflected effect on the backdrop when characters are picked
out by spots. The stage is dominated by two huge, gold statues
of Buddha, along with a massive gold throne on a gold dias and even a
gold bed – there seems to be a pattern emerging here. The King of Siam
obviously had a penchant for gold. There is also an effective display of hanging
blue and gold, what else, paper lanterns which appear from the flies. All of which give a sumptuous feel to a show
based on the 1944 novel, Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon
which in turn is based on the memoirs of the real Anna who was employed
by the King in the 1860s as a governess to educate his children and to
help modernise his country. The musical is set in 1862 and we see the
inevitable clash between the autocratic King, whose word is law cannot
be questioned, and the stubborn Colonial English widow who stands up for
her rights. Behind the constant conflict though is a growing
love with neither of them will admit until the very end when it is too
late because essentially The King and I is a love story. It might not be
about romance, but it is certainly about love between two very different
people from very different cultures. The two stars manage to create a chemistry on
stage which is essential for the musical to work, without it you never
see beyond the constant bickering and fighting and the love which binds
it all together gests lost in the arguments. They are given good support by James Hirst as
both Captain Orton, whose ship brings Anna to Bangkok, and Sir Edward
Ramsey, the diplomat who is persuaded that Mongkut is not a barbarian
etc., etc., etc., as the king might say, thanks to sterling work
arranging a banquet, ball and party by Anna.
Leading the Royal household is chief wife Lady
Thiang, played convincingly by Maya Sapone and the tragic lover, Tup-Tim,
played by Claire-Marie Hall. Tup-Tim was a gift from the King of Burma and
perhaps the weakest point of the show is the play within a play written
by Tup-Tim which is a condemnation of slavery based on Uncle Tom's
Cabin, Siam style. It made its point but somehow lacked the polish
and spectacle to give it any wow factor. In 1951 few theatre goers had
seen Siamese dance or theatre, or indeed any dance except classical
ballet or ballroom. Now we are more sophisticated and with that
experience we perhaps expect more. The children all played their art, two teams of
16, and they managed one of the amusing highlights of the evening when
one child asked “What do you do when afraid?” but his accent betrayed
him revealing that he came from the Black Country end of Bangkok, King
am we and all that. A mention too for the nine piece band under
conductor Julian Kelly who helped make the music, which remember is
heading to retirement age, and the production still seem fresh. Brynner made the role his own but perhaps less
well known is the fact that Rex Harrison was the first choice for the
role for the opening on Browadway but was not available. One
wonders what our perception of the musical would have been had he been
able to take on the role . . . To 31-03-12 Roger Clarke
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